Frozen Nightmare
by PokingAngel
Summary: Riku and his little brother have been kidnapped and taken to a world which still thrives on the old ideals of the Victorian Era; particularly child labour. While his little brother is made to work in the factories, Riku is made to fight others for gambling until his spirit breaks. In desperation he calls out to the one person who could save him... Rating may go up
1. Warm Memories

_A/N- Hello people! So I have been sitting on this fanfic for a looooooooooong time (almost five years) but never had the confidence to write it. Thanks to my new friendship with Ssceles I decided to give it a go. This is a Riku/Ansem story but I'm not a 100% if I want it to be romantic or not. Lemme know. Anyways, I hope you enjoy._

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Snow. Something extremely uncommon on the islands. And now Riku was surrounded by it. He had seen snow before: once during a freak snow storm on the islands and then in the Land of Dragons. But it was nothing like this. The seventeen year old curled up in the corner of a freezing cell as snow flurries drifted through the small barred window at the top of the stone room. All he had was a thin tattered sheet to wrap around himself and the tattered remains of his clothes. This was the third night he was kept in here. He refused to listen to his Handlers. They tried to force him to fight other teenagers and he refused; sometimes purposely lost matches just to show his defiance to this warped system.

But now… he was starting to regret that. Riku knew that's exactly what they wanted; his spirit to be broken so he could be used to gain profit. The silverette didn't want to be broken again. Just recently he had recovered from Ansem's possession and was determined to keep that strength. Riku closed his eyes trying to picture the warmth of his islands again. He pictured racing with Sora and Kairi's smiling face. He gathered up every warm light he could to try and melt his frigid body. A small, rare tear rolled down his cheek as the memories started slipping due to a harsh wind that blew through the window.

More than anything he wanted to leave this world with his little brother and return home. His mind began seeking people to call out for help. He so desperately wanted to call Sora and Kairi. They would come running in a heartbeat if his plea reached them. But then he remembered where he was. Given their ages, they would be captured too and forced to work. This world was powerful. Riku would never, ever wish this treatment for them. His body began to shake as he slumped lower; realizing there was only one person who could possibly save him…

"Ansem… please… save me…" Riku's mind cried out with his last strands of consciousness before he slipped into a deep feverish sleep.

Almost instantly, through the strong will, Ansem appeared in the cell with a wide smile. "At last you see darkness is-"

Ansem never got to finish that monolog. He noticed the boy was not standing in front of him. The heartless had been locked away so tightly within Riku's heart he hadn't really a clue what was happening. Casually he glanced around until he saw Riku's weakly curled up form. Almost uncharacteristically Ansem knelt down and touched the boy's arm. Even through his white gloves his arm felt freezing. Biting down on his middle finger, Ansem quickly pulled off his glove and felt the teen's forehead. He was burning up. He may have been a heartless for over a decade now but he still remembered fevers were never good.

Xehanort's Heartless then took note of the numerous bruises covering his pale skin. Immediately he casted the highest level cure and while it cleared up most of the injuries, others more severe were reduced but his fever was still burning hot. Ansem knew he had to get Riku out of here quickly. He considered simply taking over while Riku was in this weakened state like he did against Lexaeus but it would be impossible to break out of the cell with how sick he was. It'd be like trudging through knee-deep mud.

Ansem stared at the Riku's shivering form deep in thought how to rectify this. He could feel Riku's faint heart beat. He had maybe an hour or two before that would stop and then they'd both be dead. No, no that wouldn't do. He tried telling himself the only reason he cared was to protect his vessel. Ansem then opened a dark corridor. Riku would never survive the trip so Ansem was forced to leave him there for a moment; but not before gently taking off his coat and draping it over the teen. No one else would see it so there wasn't any risk of it being taken.

"I'll be back…"

Riku could have sworn he felt something touch his skin but he was too tired to see whom. He shivered despite his face burning up. He pulled the sheet tighter around his arms and was surprised it actually gave him warmth. And then he heard heavy footsteps approaching from the outside of his cell. He curled up more dreading it was another beating. Through the several layers of sleep he could barely hear a conversation between the Handler and a mysterious voice.

"You sure you want this one? He's only ever lost clients money and currently looks to sickly to do anything."

The other's voice was too low to understand what was being said however Riku didn't care. He knew it just meant another master had come to claim him.

"Alright if you insist. Here, take this just to keep him motivated if he doesn't behave."

The silverette winced having heard that sentence many times to know what he was referring to. Each handler was given a sharp crop to be used on their slaves when they disobeyed or misbehaved. And others used it for more… nefarious purposes… the likes of which Riku was spared due to his insolence and will to fight. Riku tried to force his eyes open. He tried to move. To stand. He couldn't take another beating. But his body just refused to move and he lay as still as a rag doll.

Yet… much to his surprise… he felt a pair of strong arms ever so gently pick him up bridal style and gingerly carried the boy out of the cell. Out of instinct Riku curled up against the warm man. It reminded him of the warm sand back home… His mind began slipping in and out of catalepsy. He remembered feeling the freezing wind as they stepped outside before the feeling of something warm wrapped around him as he fell asleep again.

Next thing he felt was gently being laid on what felt like a dusty old armchair. Riku desperately wanted to open his eyes to see what was happening but he barely had the strength to achieve that. Instead he focused his ears listening as his new Handler shuffled around the room before lighting the fire which slowly began to warm the room.

"Now lets get you out of those wet clothes…"

Large hands began peeling away the blood stained tatters which earned a small cry from the teenager as some of the pieces had actually become stuck to his skin. Undressed down to his boxers, Riku dreaded the worst; his eyes still unable to open and the only command his body seemed to obey was to scratch the upholstery with the tips of his fingers. More rustling before he was gingerly scooped up again and this time laid on a soft, now warm bed. Was he really that fortunate to get a kind Handler? This could be a trap though. Trying to lure him into a false sense of security before completely breaking the boy.

All the wild theories soon wore him out again; drifting into a deep sleep as the blanket was tucked tightly around him to keep warm. Riku hadn't a clue how long he was out for this time. He was so comfortable and warm in the bed he didn't want to wake up in case it was all just a dream. Eventually though the inevitable happened and Riku opened his eyes. The room was bathed in a warm yellow glow clearly radiating from the blazing fireplace.

The room was basic, made out of wooden logs stacked together with a wardrobe and dresser as well as a full body mirror hanging on the wall. A single window by his bed side looked out onto the snow covered streets of this cruel world. Riku attempted to sit up but found his head was too heavy from the fever.

"You still need to rest."

Riku almost jumped at the sound of Ansem's voice. Almost if it weren't for the fact his body felt like it weighed two tons. "What are you… doing here?" His voice croaked having not spoken in a while.

"You called me here, remember?" Ansem reminded as he sat down on the bed with a small bowl of cold water in one hand and a cup in the other. He set the cup down on the bedside table before wringing the white cloth in the cold water and laying it gently across Riku's forehead. The silverette gasped in relief feeling the cold against his burning forehead.

"Why did you… save me…?" Riku asked with a touch of worry in his soft voice.

Ansem sighed. "Even I have standards… And child abuse is one of them. As much grief as you've caused me, I would have never wished this upon you. Too many bruises."

The teen rolled his eyes. Ansem then picked up the cup, "drink this… it'll help you sleep and break the fever."

That's when Riku really began to struggle. He found a small reserve of energy just enough to turn his head away. The heartless probably drugged it so he could take over his defenseless body. "No… I won't let you… control me again…"

The older man grunted at Riku's fruitless attempts to escape and as much as he wanted to avoid physical violence, Riku having the drink was more important for the boy's survival. He gripped Riku's jaw trying to still him.

"I promise… I won't do anything." It almost pained Xehanort's Heartless to make that promise but if he didn't Riku could hurt himself trying to escape in this state.

Eventually Riku ran out of energy and his head stopped wriggling. He hated this. He felt so weak and helpless. The cup was pressed to his lips and he reluctantly opened his mouth drinking the warm liquid. It tasted like a nice fruit tea from back home. Just as Ansem said, the medicine soon kicked in and felt extremely tired again. He tried fighting sleep fearing what Ansem might do but alas it was no use. His eyes closed tight and he sank into the warm recesses of his memories.

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_A/N- Please let me know what you think! I'm rather proud of it and next chapter we'll get into a bit of the backstory more. Till next time!_


	2. Trauma

_AN- I'm really enjoying writing this._

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_"Riku! RIKU!" Sora shouted waving his hand at Riku as he stood outside the school with Kairi._

_ It was late afternoon and school had just finished. Riku smiled as he walked his bike up to his friends. "Hey guys."_

_ "You going to walk home with us?" Kairi smiled._

_ "Ah, sorry no. My mom is working late so I need to pick up my little brother. I'll see you guys tomorrow." And with that Riku hopped on his bike and casually rode down the hill to his littler brother's Elementary School. While he missed travelling and seeing the worlds, nothing could beat riding through the streets of their small island. It was alive and bustling with local islanders. A few even waved at Riku as he rode past. He was pretty much known by everyone and since his return was greeted with a warm welcome… to which Riku could only think what they'd say if they knew the truth…_

_ A young boy, about 11 years old stood on the sidewalk after school. He had extremely pale blonde hair, which could almost be passed off as silver in the right light, and bright green eyes. He had his hair combed back with only a few strands of hair shaping his soft face and the cutest smile. His mother said, he always looked like his father. _

_ "Hey Kiba…" Two boys sneered looming over the eleven year old. _

_ "Leave me alone guys!" the 6__th__ grader exclaimed trying to find a peaceful spot to wait for his older brother. _

_ "Aww! Is that any way to treat your only friends? You know, seeing how you're such a pathetic excuse for a boy." The bullies high fived each other. "You'll never live up to your brother's skill."_

_ Kiba grit his teeth. He hated how everyone compared him to Riku. He was six years younger yet everywhere he went, people expected him to be just as good as his brother at everything! Kiba grabbed a sharp stick off the ground and charged at the two boys with full fury. _

_ "KIBA!" Riku shouted jumping off his bike and breaking up the three fighting youths easily. _

_ "You better keep that mutt on a leash or else I'll get my father to sue!" The obvious leader of the pair shouted._

_ Riku shot the boys a deathly glare with a small flash of darkness just to scare them off. As expected they ran screaming away. The silverette sighed turning his attention back to his brother. _

_ "Kiba…" He began._

_ "They started it!" Kiba immediately shouted._

_ "That's no excuse. You could have been expelled if the teachers caught you or worse! You need to learn to choose your battles more wisely." Riku advised calmly._

_ "Like you got to?" There was a hint of jealousy in the blonde's voice. _

_ 'If only you knew…' Riku thought to himself before kneeling down and placing his hands on his brother's shoulders. "Yes, I've fought many battles. And while it might be a great stress reliever sometimes, battles are really serious. You remember me telling you about mine and Sora's fight against a nobody named Xemnas? I nearly broke my back from protecting him. Could barely walk for a long time…"_

_ Kiba sighed. He knew Riku was right. Riku was ALWAYS right. He had the battle scars to prove it. "I just want to be strong… like you…"_

_ Riku swallowed hard seeing a reflection of his younger self. Memories flooded back with how he was so tempted by the darkness all in the pursuit of strength. He thought quickly on how to deter such drives. "Hey I have an idea. If you promise me not to get into anymore fights, I'll teach you to defend yourself properly."_

_ A wide smiled stretched across his younger brother's face, "REALLY?!"_

_ "Really, really." Riku replied. _

_ "WOOHOO! I'M GOING TO BE STRONGER!" Kiba exclaimed dancing around his older brother._

_ The seventeen year old couldn't resist laughing at how cute his brother was being. He walked over to his fallen bike and the two started heading back to theirs… but first… "You want some ice cream Kiba?"_

_ "Do I ever Riku!" Kiba beamed. "Hey do you think I could learn to use your sword one day?!"_

_ "Heh, one step at a time now." Riku chuckled. _

_ Since their mom was working late, Kiba and Riku spent the afternoon together in the park enjoying delicious fruity ice creams. Ever since Riku had returned home, the two of them had grown very close again. Kiba had a hard time making friends and Riku did his best to help him make friends, the blonde preferred spending time quietly in his room working. _

_ Around 6pm, the sun was beginning to set indicating it was time to head home. The islands were rarely known for crime however there was still the risk of heartless. It was uncommon these days to see one but still, people were told to stay alert. As they slowly approached their house, both laughing without a care, they failed to notice the dark figure watching them from the rooftop. The last thing Riku heard was a strange ticking sound before Kiba screamed and then all went black and he was left with a searing headache. _

"Kiba… Kiba… I'm sorry…" Riku muttered in his sleep.

Ansem came into the room again with a small bowl of soup just as Riku's eyes fluttered open. He winced painfully as he shifted his stiff muscles. It felt so strange waking up in a bed. It had been so long. His blue green eyes slowly adjusted to the yellowish light from the fireplace. He could barely remember what happened. There was the cell… and then…someone carried him… and took him here.

"Good to see you're awake." Ansem said with almost a touch of concern in his tone.

Riku instantly stiffened hearing that too familiar voice. He slowly turned his towards Ansem before springing out of the bed and drawing Way to Dawn. Well at least he wanted to. Pain shot through his legs causing him to fall to his knees. He crawled backwards pointing his keyblade at Ansem. It was apparent, his right leg was twisted the wrong way and the other ankle was badly bruised. And then he screamed again as his hand shaking violently until he released his keyblade.

It was then Ansem noticed a thick bracelet around Riku's wrist. He slowly approached.

"Stay back!" Riku screamed.

The silver haired teen even went so far as trying to reach for his blade again which again resulted in a shock to his wrist. It was clear the boy was very scared.

"I'm not going to hurt you…"Ansem raised his hands as if he was walking towards a wild animal.

"Yeah right!" Riku continued to crawl backwards hoping the wall would disappear.

"I'm here to help you."

"At what cost?! My heart! No I won't let you!"

"Riku… calm down… you're only hurting yourself more." Ansem tried though clearly getting more irritated.

"I have to save my little brother!" Riku shouted.

"Do you really want me to leave you alone?! Leave you to die alone in your condition?!" Ansem finally snapped having had enough of the teen's protests. He was just trying to help (even if it was for selfish reasons)… But when he calmed down he saw a small tear roll down Riku's face as he swallowed hard.

In the teen's eyes were fear… but not fear of Ansem… nor of being left alone again. Ansem could see he was scared of what that would mean for Kiba. The heartless knew he had the greatest chance right here to take advantage. He could easily use this against Riku; manipulate him into giving up his body to save his brother. But that would only lead to Riku finding a way to push Ansem further away. So with a sigh, Ansem snapped his fingers causing the bracelet on his wrist to explode in darkness. Riku immediately took the opportunity to attack; forgetting his leg was still bad. He attempted to do his sprint slash attack but only managed a few steps before falling into Ansem's arms.

Riku began struggling against him but Ansem held firm hoping to wear the boy out before he could injure himself further. "Calm down Riku…" He repeated quietly in Riku's ear. The voice sent shivers down his spine but he kept struggling until he had no more energy. He slumped against Ansem's body making it easier for the heartless to simply scoop him up and gently lay him on the bed.

"I didn't mean to shout at you…" Ansem said quietly, almost sounding like an apology, as examined Riku's twisted leg. It was really bad. The main bone had been completely dislodged from the knee joint. There was a simple way to fix it but it would cause a great deal of pain. So for the moment he returned his attention to the simple soup he had made, mixed with a little sleeping potion. It was clear from Riku's now bonier physique, he hadn't been fed well in a long time. Ansem would have to slowly readjust him to normal food. With a little effort, the older man slid Riku up against a stack of pillows and handed him the bowl. "Drink up."

"How do I know its not poisoned?" Riku asked cautiously. He may have dodged a bullet earlier but he was still willingly to push and see how for Ansem would go with this.

"Look, you are in terrible condition-"

"yeah no shit…" Riku muttered under his breath.

Ansem ignored him, "…and I can't use a broken body. So how about this? We call a temporary truce. Just until you're strong enough to face me again and then after this is all over, we can battle for your heart. Sound fair?"

The silverette paused and considered all the pros and cons. "Will you… really try to help me escape?"

"Don't mistake this as generosity boy. If you die here, then I die too." Ansem warned.

Riku smiled. "Like I'd ever consider you generous."

The two sighed quietly as Riku stared at the bowl before putting it to his lips and gently drinking. It was just a simple vegetable broth however it was warm and comforting and the boy couldn't help drinking every drop. It wasn't long before he felt the effects of the sleeping drug. Ansem pursed his lips slightly.

"Well now that we got that over… I have to fix this leg." Ansem said quietly tightly gripping the broken bones.

"Hmm?" But before Riku could fully lift his head Ansem squeezed his knee hard and then shunted the other bone back into place. Riku screamed bloody murder. Using his hand to hold the main bone to the knee, Ansem proceeded to set the other bones with his hands. Tears streamed from the teen's eyes. It hurt so much. Once in place, Ansem casted the cure and the bones began healing in place. Riku's crying calmed into a few hiccups and sobs feeling the magic course through his leg.

The sleep potion began acting again causing his eyes to droop. Ansem gently reached out and cupped the boy's cheek with hand; using his thumb to wipe away the tears: a rare act of kindness from the heartless. As much as he hated it, Riku turned his face into the palm more firmly. He hadn't felt a comforting touch in so long. It wasn't long before he drifted back to sleep again.

_ When Riku awoke again, he was sitting on his knees with his hands shackled firmly behind his back. With the tips of his fingers he could feel a chain, no doubt connecting to the wall. As his eyes adjusted he then realized a brown sack had been placed over his head. The teen began to shake slightly. Where was he? Why was he here? Who brought him here… and most importantly…_

_ "Kiba! Kiba where are you?!" Riku shouted loudly turning his head from side to side hoping he could actually see. _

_ His wish was granted as the bag was torn off his head. The silverette winced slightly as the bright light flooded his eyes. From what he could make out, he was in a large square room with the light source being some surgery lights hanging from the ceiling. And right across from him, was his little brother chained up exactly the same. Almost immediately, Riku stood and attempted to run towards his little brother._

_ "Riku!" Kiba cried, tears rolling down his face._

_ Riku kept pulling against the chains till his back hurt. He had to protect his little brother._

_ "That's enough now." Next thing Riku knew, he fell face first onto the concrete ground with pain in his ankles. Looking up he saw a tall man dressed in a red Victorian style coat sporting an expensive looking cane. He had long black hair that was tied back into a ponytail. "You and your brother now belong to the 1850's Elite."_

_ "I don't belong to anyone!" Riku snapped. After Ansem's possession, he hated ANYONE saying they owned him._

_ The man continued ignoring his shout, "Your brother will be working in the factories along with the other children while you…" Riku's head was forced up with the ball of the cane. "Will be in the fighting group where Handlers will buy you and make you fight other teens for money; seeing as you're over 15."_

_ The seventeen year old jerked his head away from the cane but glared up at him again wishing his eyes alone could kill. Not even the tiny flash of darkness seemed to scare him. "I refuse to fight!"_

_ A creepy smile grew across the man's voice that could rival Ansem's in sending chills down Riku's spine. "Good." He whispered. "We do love a challenge here. There is only one rule. If you try to escape… we will kill your little brother." He looked to Kiba. "And if you try to escape, we'll kill your older brother."_

_ "NO!" Both cried out._

_ "Doesn't matter if you do escape anyways. This town is the only one around here for miles. The rest is blanketed in snow. If you do escape, you won't get very far without freezing or starving to death."_

_ "Why are you doing this?!" Riku shouted testing the bonds again._

_ "Why? Well because we miss the days when children worked under us. It taught them "values" and made them grow up. Otherwise they're useless… wasting all their time playing. As for the fighting, well… we just enjoy money too." The man chuckled. "There is no escape here… only death. My name is Lord Crimson; welcome to our world."_

As Riku came to again, he could feel himself surrounded by warmth. For a moment it felt like he was lying in the warm seas of his islands. But then suddenly he began to panic feeling water being dumped on his head. His eyes snapped open and he gripped the sides of what felt like a bath tub; gasping loudly in fear.

"Riku! Riku calm down! What's wrong?!" Ansem exclaimed setting the bucket down and grabbing the boy's arms.

The teen panted heavily as his whole body shook in fear. His right fingers dug deeply into Ansem's arm, threatening to make him bleed. Steadily, his heart rate normalized and his breathing stilled. As his eyes refocused, he looked towards Ansem almost looking ready to cry. Ansem tilted his head slightly confused as to how a simple bath could freak his pet out so much. Very gently he reached out and placed a firm hand on the side of Riku's face. Riku closed his eyes leaning his head into the hand finding it comforting.

Ansem closed his eyes, digging through the teen's memory. He saw one of his previous Handlers, used water torture as punishment for Riku's mistakes (which was a lot). From the keyblade wielder's point of view, he saw how Riku was strapped to a chair then dropped into some freezing water until he nearly passed out. Sometimes the process being repeated several times in one session. It was… horrible… even from a heartless's standpoint.

"Shh… its okay. I won't do that again." Ansem cooed quietly. It was the first time ever he saw how fragile Riku really was after all this. A few more days and they could have actually succeeded in breaking him.

As Riku settled he took note of his surroundings. They were in a rather large en suite bathroom with the tub being along the far side of the wall next to the fire to keep the bath warm. Ansem sat beside him on a stool with a few bottles of shampoo and soap. And then it suddenly hit Riku he was naked in a bath beside Ansem. Doing his best to hide a blush he decided to try focusing elsewhere.

The heartless softly chuckled, "how does your leg feel?"

Riku shifted his leg slightly in the bath wincing a tiny bit, "not as bad as yesterday but it still hurts."

"It'll take about a week to fully recover with a few more cure treatments." Ansem explained as he soaped up a washcloth.

"Um… what are you doing?" Riku didn't like where this was going. The older man was probably just using this as an excuse to feel him up.

"You've been asleep for three days, if I wanted to do that, I would have done it while you were asleep. You are covered in mud and blood. It's a medical marvel you only got away with the flu. I need to clean the wounds and you're not in a condition to do so."

Riku forgot Ansem could read his mind. "Of course I am!" He exclaimed snatching the rag from the tan man's hands (to which he noticed, Ansem had taken his gloves off). He attempted to start by washing his shoulders but he could barely scrub with all the wincing. He tried every part of his body however it was just too much. Finally the teen sighed annoyed as he handed the cloth back to Ansem, who merely chuckled again.

"I promise I'll be gentle…" Ansem purred as he first took Riku's arm.

"Don't say it like that!" Riku shouted.

The heartless looked up almost innocently, "like what?"

The seventeen year old growled looking away again. He knew fighting with this man would get him nowhere. Best not give him any ideas. Ansem was surprisingly gentle. He took care with each bump, bruise and cut; only scrubbing hard when there was a greater risk of infection.

"So tell me… how did you manage to keep from getting your cherry popped?" Ansem asked ever so randomly as he washed his leg.

Riku's face went beat red from the out-of-the-blue question but ended up snickering in memory. "Let's just say… my last Handler who tried… now walks with a limp… and has to pee through a pipe."

At first Ansem chortled before breaking into a full on laugh, as the mental image grew clearer in his head. Riku smiled a little too before joining in. It felt so good to laugh, even though it really hurt his body. And it felt so good to actually hear a joy filled laugh; not one filled with evil intentions or malice from his misfortune. It was just odd coming from Ansem.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you."

Riku rolled his eyes but couldn't help smiling. Ansem gently continued washing him. The water had turned a murky reddish brown color from all the mud and blood. The heartless drained the tub before using the bucket to carefully rinse off the dirt resin from his body. Riku still tensed up gripping Ansem's arm but the man merely cooed him, whispering words of comfort. He then gently helped the teen out of the tub into a warm towel.

"I don't have any clothes…" Riku whispered quietly.

"Don't worry, I already took care of that." Ansem smiled as he carried the silverette back to the bedroom. The sheets had been changed to clean ones and on it lay a new yellow long sleeve shirt and some shorts. Riku was set on the bed, face going slightly pink. For some reason he felt safer in the bath. He had just enough strength to hold himself sitting up. The towel slipped off his shoulders as Ansem pulled the shirt over his head then carefully proceeded to push his arms through the sleeve. Riku winced a lot but it felt good to have warm clean clothes on.

"Now… lie back…" The heartless gently pushed his host down as he proceeded to slip the shorts on. Riku let out a scream as the material bumped his tender leg. "Just imagine if these were pants."

The teen admittedly looked very cute in the long sleeve shirt that was slightly too big for him and the blue shorts. Ansem shook his head slightly as he carefully moved Riku back onto the pillows. He wrapped the blanket warmly around the boy.

"I'm not tired." Riku glared though was rather comfortable.

"You may not be, but you still can't walk so what else are you going to do? I'm not carrying you everywhere."

Riku growled. He HATED being bed ridden. "Can I have some food? I'm starving!"

"Riku…" Ansem warned softly. "I am not your servant."

The silverette crossed his arms. The heartless shrugged and started leaving the room. He wanted to nurse the boy back to health, but that did not mean he was going to let Riku take advantage. Being a heartless, he still wanted Riku's heart and if the teen realized he needed Ansem, his goal would be completed soon. There was suddenly a loud gargling growl, which made Ansem smile.

"Fine…" He sighed. "May I please have some food?"

Those words tasted like vinegar on his tongue; saying please to the man he despised. As Xehanort's Heartless left, he swore to himself that as soon as his leg was healed, he'd escape and save his little brother. Riku didn't want to spend a second longer with this heartless.


	3. Plan

_AN- Woohoo! Chapter 3! I'm actually having a lot of fun writing this. Like I said, this story has been on my mind for years and finally feeling confident enough to type it is great. This is technically my first public yaoi story so I'm just playing it by ear on what direction I'll take (though not confident enough yet to attempt smut). Anywho, enjoy and lemme know what you think_

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"KIBA!" Riku screamed sitting up.

Shaking, the teen held his head from the most terrible nightmare. He needed to save his little brother… He looked around the room, admittedly a little surprised not to see the heartless but also relieved. Carefully, the teen attempted to slide out of the bed; wincing as the sheets snagged his leg. Knowing better than to put his full weight on the right leg, he gripped the sheets until he felt his left foot firmly balanced on the cold hardwood floor. The cold shot through his body like a bolt of lightning. Riku looked around before seeing that the fire had gone out. Ansem probably left to get more firewood.

The heartless could return at any moment, which meant the teen didn't have a lot of time. His shoulders shook as he attempted to push himself up from the awkward bent-over-the-bed position. He grit his teeth hating feeling so weak. Finally with enough effort, the silverette was upright and balanced on his left leg. Now what.

"_Damnit…" _Riku swore in his mind. There wasn't enough furniture from his bed to the door to lean against and he couldn't very well hop. Only one option came to mind, which the teen really didn't want to resort to for being so pathetic. His knee began to buckle forcing him to the cold floor. It was humiliating for the once proud boy even thinking about crawling to escape. He wasn't some broken animal… well… maybe he was. Riku shook his head. There was no other way. Slowly and painfully he began to drag his bony carcass across the cold floor.

The door was only a few feet away however it felt like miles. He was still slightly feverish and the icy floor burned his recently fixed leg. "Kiba… I'm coming…" Riku kept whispering willing every fiber of his body to keep going. This was all for his brother... _At last!_ Leaning against the cold door, Riku reached up and twisted the handle, so happy it wasn't locked. Pushing the door open the teen pulled him self through only to meet an even harder obstacle.

Stairs.

There was no way he could successfully drag himself down without any further injury. His feeble arms finally gave way under his weight and he just lay in the door way staring downstairs. This was a foolish plan. Even if he did get down the stairs, what was he going to do next? Drag him self to wherever the hell his little brother was being kept through all the snow and avoid all the guards? In his condition? Riku balled his fists before slamming them into the floor with a loud scream of frustration.

Releasing a sigh, he rolled over and stared at the wooden ceiling. He felt so pathetic and helpless. Some time later, he heard the door slam. _Oh this was going to be fun… _He tried to will his body to move so Ansem wouldn't see him like this. The old house creaked with every step the heartless made making it easy for Riku to track where he was. The teen panicked in embarrassment and actually managed to scramble to his feet. He screamed loudly as he fell against his bed.

The silverette heard Ansem rushing up the stairs. He gripped the sheets tightly attempting to pull him self up. Too late. He heard a soft chuckle right behind him and he realized how bad this position looked bent over the bed.

"Well now…" The heartless purred.

"FINISH THAT SENTENCE AND DIE!" Riku barked. He attempted to flip the tan man off only resulting in sliding off the bed and landing on his leg.

"I leave you alone for an hour and you manage to reinjure your leg and lose another ounce of dignity." Xehanort mused as he scooped the teen in his arms. Riku growled loudly struggling in the man's arms. "Good to see your fight is back."

"It never left! Now put me down!" the boy demanded.

It amused the heartless greatly. The teen was only a few weeks away from becoming a legal adult yet here he was throwing a tantrum like a child in his arms. This new spurt of energy soon faded and Riku settled down; simply crossing his arms. They had a temporary truce but that didn't mean he had to be completely compliant. Ansem smiled gently setting Riku down on the bed before moving down and examining his leg before shaking his head with an tsk.

"Your little stunt has resulted in another fracture. Hold still." Once again Ansem snapped the bones back into place forcing another scream out of Riku's throat. It wasn't as painful as the first time but the heartless squeezed his knee.

"Ow the hell?!" Riku screamed recognizing that Ansem did that on purpose.

"A little reminder not to injure yourself again." He smirked.

Riku dropped his head as Ansem casted another healing spell. A small purr escaped his lips feeling the soothing magic course through his sore leg. It wasn't till the bastard chuckled again when he noticed what he had done.

"SHUT UP!" Riku screamed looking away with a red face.

"I didn't say anything pet. Now then, you are to stay in bed until that leg heals. If you need me, just call in your head and I'll be by your side." Ansem stood and started towards the door.

"Where are you going again?" the silverette asked almost at a tone close to accusatory.

"Well unless you're content with staying in a freezing room, I'm retrieving the firewood I spent all morning collecting then going to make some breakfast. Is that okay master?"

If there was one thing Riku hated more than this man… it was this man patronizing him. The pure sarcasm dripping off the end of that sentence alone could fill a bathtub. _A bathtub I'd happily drown him in…_

_ "I heard that_." Ansem mocked in his head as he headed downstairs_._

Add mental connection to that list of things Riku hated. The teen really didn't want to acknowledge psychological bond the two shared… however it was useful sometimes. Though more often than not it was a pure annoyance to the teenager. He had to be super careful what he thought or else the heartless might exploit him to no end about it.

A few moments later, Ansem reappeared in his room with an arm's full of firewood. He piled it neatly into the fireplace and casted fire to light it. Soon the whole room began to warm up again. Riku sighed comfortably readjusting on the bed to face the red glow. Twenty minutes later, Ansem returned yet again this time with a small plate of breakfast. Scrambled eggs with a piece of toast. Being an athlete, the silverette was used to a large breakfast however he knew his stomach wasn't strong enough yet. He even wondered if this would be too much.

"So, now that you're fully awake, I think its best we devise some sort of plan to escape." Xehanort's Heartless stated as he sat on the edge of the bed carefully; handing Riku the tray.

The keyblade wielder slowly nodded as he took a small bite of the fluffy eggs. Who knew Ansem could actually cook? "There's… a bit of a catch…" Riku said quietly taking a bite out of the bland toast.

"Hmm?"

Riku's eyes seemed to glaze over for a moment, lost in a painful memory, "the law here states when a boy turns 18, they are given two choices. Either join them and become a Handler… or die. And… as you know my birthday is next month… I have… or had a collar which counted down the days. Last time I wore the number was around 60 so I have about 53 days I'm assuming."

"So why not simply join them and just buy your brother? Keep you both safe until you can find a way to escape." Ansem asked as he casually examined the healing injuries on the boy's legs.

"A… A boy tried that once…" Riku stared at his plate as he absentmindedly poked the eggs with his fork. "His name was Tom. He was really nice to me when I first arrived. Taught me everything about this world. Protected me. We… we devised a plan together. When he turned 18, he was going to buy me then we'd work together to raise the money… But…"

Ansem stared at the boy feeling the pain ooze out of Riku's heart. His mouth moved but he couldn't form any words. The heartless placed a hand on the teen's face. Riku flinched, "what are you doing?"

"Shh… just let me see…" Ansem's hand began to glow. "Close your eyes…"

At first the teen resisted not feeling comfortable but he realized it meant he wouldn't have to describe it. Sighing, he reluctantly closed his eyes letting the memories flow…

_"Good evening boys and girls. We have called you here tonight to celebrate our newest member of the 1850s Elite: Tom Worthington!" Mr. Crimson announced in a deep booming voice. _

_ Reluctant, forced claps echoed the large arena. Through Riku's eyes, Ansem saw a young man now dressed in a clean Victorian style outfit step out into the middle of the dirt arena. He could feel the fear swelling within Riku seeing his friend dressed as a Handler. The seventeen year old immediately knew something was wrong. Tom then raised a basic cane and pointed it at the ceiling. _

_ "In honor of my inauguration into the Elite, I, Tom Worthington, hereby shed my first blood as a Handler as an example of what is to be expected of me in this role. Bring forth… Jessica Quinton."_

_ A loud gasp erupted in the arena as most of the children had gotten to Tom and his little cousin Jessica. The little seven-year-old blonde girl was dragged out into the middle of the arena by two large men. She was clearly terrified as she struggled and screamed for help. Anyone who tried to stand up and save her had their shock collars activated knocking them unconscious. Riku saw this and remained sitting; his heart was beating like crazy. _

_ H-he… he couldn't… no he wouldn't! _

_ The memory began going fuzzy as Riku was trying to force it go away. He shut his mental eyes. Ansem managed to make a mental avatar of his own as the memory slowed to a freeze. He appeared behind Riku and placed his hands on his shoulders. The boy winced but kept his eyes shut._

_ "Show me…"_

_ "N-no… I can't… Don't make me…" The silverette shook. _

_ "Its just a memory. If we are to escape I need to see this…" Ansem convinced with an alluring voice._

_ Riku knew that wasn't really true but he slowly opened his eyes as the memory began play again and Ansem disappeared back into his mind's eye. _

_ "Tommy please don't do this!" Jessica cried loudly._

_ The other children joined in her cries her age that knew her. The men threw Jessica to the ground at Tom's feet. Jessica shook on the ground, crying her eyes out. She had been told what was going to happen and while at first she didn't believe it, there was this… look in Tom's eyes. They had become so cold… so… evil. Riku watched in horror as Tom used the ball of his new cane to tilt her chin up to face him. She sniffled, desperately searching for a tiny bit of light left within him. _

_ CRACK_

_ The seventeen year old shut his eyes and looked away as Tom's cane swung up and caught Jessica in the jaw. She screamed loudly as she rolled onto her back. Blood poured from her mouth. Riku felt sick as he aversely opened his eyes again. Cries and screams filled the air as Tom proceeded to repeatedly beat his once-cousin to a pulp. Even Ansem felt a little sick watching. Finally, Riku couldn't stand it anymore. He stood to his feet and shouted loudly for Tom to stop. _

_ Strangely his Handler didn't punish him for this. The blonde boy with hazel eyes turned his head and stared directly at his friend. Jessica cried as attempted to drag herself away seeing her cousin was distracted. Without breaking his gaze, Tom drew a hidden saber from his cane with a cruel smirk. _

_ "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" Riku screamed as he drew Way to Dawn and attempted to lunge at the eighteen year old._

_ Electricity shot through Riku's wrist from his weapon inhibitor bracelet. He fell down the stairs of the bleachers; just managing to catch himself on the wall separating the arena and its audience. The pain soon forced him to drop his blade. Tom simply laughed before walking up to the little blonde girl and plunging his saber into Jessica's leg. The little girl screamed louder than ever before shattering Riku's heart. He wasn't strong enough to save her._

_ He willed his body to stand but as soon as he did his Handler finally activated the Taser in his collar knocking him unconscious. The last thing Riku heard was the order for the girl to be thrown off the mountain as he slipped into darkness…_

Riku slowly opened his now watery eyes. It wasn't fair. She was so young and he couldn't do anything to save her. Ansem's features seemed to have softened. He could have almost sworn he felt the teen's pain in his own chest. This world had broken his vessel, body and mind. Tears began rolling down Riku's pale cheeks.

"I don't want to become that… I… I don't want to hurt Kiba…" He sobbed.

The heartless soon found his thumb was moving on its own, gently wiping away the tears that tarnished his usually proud face. "I won't let that happen, you hear me? I won't let them take you from me." For a moment they remained still like that until Ansem coughed and drew his hand away. "So we have less than 60 days to escape."

Planning was probably the best idea for right now to keep his mind off that gruesome memory. Riku slowly nodded before adding, "There's only one way out. Mr. Crimson has a machine that allows you to exit this world and go anywhere you want. And you can buy a ticket to use this machine."

"Or I could simply open a portal and get all of us out." the heartless pointed out.

"No!" Riku protested. "Niether Kiba or I would survive that. We'd both be turned into heartless. And you can't leave without me. Not completely."

Ansem frowned knowing it was true but was curious what sort of machine this was, "How much are these tickets?"

Riku went quiet for a moment. "Its… one million per person. So we'd need at least 3 million. They figure if you've earned that much money then the greed has taken over and you won't want to tell anyone about this world. I have a feeling there's another catch but I've never met anyone who's gone through it."

"I see. And how do we raise that munny?"

A deep sigh. "The… only way Handlers can make munny… is by betting on their champions… in the arena."

"Well that should be easy, you're one of the best fighters I've ever seen." The heartless complimented.

"I don't want to fight other children though!" Riku protested. "Most of them are unwillingly and the fight doesn't end until one is beaten unconscious! Why do you think I was in that cell?! I was branded as a useless Champion because I always refused to fight! Besides my Handlers would have never used the money to buy my brother and I a ticket out of here…"

A thought suddenly crossed Riku's mind. One that hadn't occurred to him before, "how did you buy me? And this house?"

"The previous owner conveniently 'died' and decided to leave me all of his possessions including what munny he had." Ansem smiled.

The teenager rolled his eyes, "what about his slaves?"

"He didn't have any."

That line alone told Riku, Ansem sought out someone who was between children and axed them off before taking their place. He didn't like it now that he was living in a stolen house… but all the same he was still grateful to be out of that jail cell.

"How much munny do you have left?"

"Enough to get us by for the next few weeks. The Handler had about 10,000. I managed to buy you for 500."

"What?! That's it?!" Riku exclaimed. He knew he was the lower end on the market… but not that low.

The heartless let out a deep amused chuckle, "You could be considered a cheap whore at that rate. Too bad I haven't got my munny's worth."

Riku slapped the bastard with all the force he could muster in his weakened arms. It only caused him to laugh more, which caused the boy to pout and cross his arms annoyed. If Ansem had said that a few months ago, he would have pummeled his ass into the ground. He HATED being bed ridden. The laughing soon stopped and the two silverette went back to planning. With less than two months to go before his 18th birthday they estimated it probably be a few more days of bed rest until the bones were completely healed in his leg.

And then two weeks of hard training. Ansem had calculated they would probably have five train sessions a day: two hours long with a half an hour break in between. And then making sure Riku got at least eight hours of sleep to keep healthy. The teenager still resented the idea of fighting the other children but the older man managed to convince him, using Kiba against him. Reluctantly Riku agreed to the plan; he just hoped it would work. The clock was ticking.

* * *

_AN- I promise more action next chapter! Please review, really helps me keep going. Thanks to everyone who's fav'd the story too 3_


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